


Sacrificing to the Tree Gods

by HomeForImaginaryFriends



Series: 31 Days of HQ Halloween [14]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Camping, First years as third years, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-16 01:49:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21263129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HomeForImaginaryFriends/pseuds/HomeForImaginaryFriends
Summary: The first years (now third years) go camping and generally are a mess.





	Sacrificing to the Tree Gods

Tsukishima is not an outdoors kind of person, even when he was a kid he seldom choose to play outside if inside was an option. Hell, the sport he chose to invest his time an energy into was played indoors and he would willingly suffer through Tanaka’s off pitch singing than play beach volleyball. So why was it he was camping of all things?

“Hitoka what are you doing?” Hinata asked, ever present grin spreading across his face as he watched Yachi try to sling her bag of food up in the trees.

Oh yeah, that’s why he was camping.

“My guide said to keep food out of the way of animals.” Yachi pulled out her camping guide, flipping to a tabbed and highlighted page. Hinata hummed as he listened to Yachi read the section on food, smile still present on his face.

“I mean that makes sense.” Hinata nodded before carefully placing his hands on Yachi’s smaller ones. “But most animals can get up in trees.” Yachi’s mouth fell open before she looked up at the plastic bag in the trees. 

“I brought an airtight cooler to put all our food in.” Yamaguchi stated gently, earning a gasp from Yachi.

“Then why did you let me throw those bags up in the tree?” Yachi pretended to hit Yamaguchi, who flinched away despite her not even reaching his shoulders.

“I thought it was some kind of nightly routine.” Yamaguchi tried to defend himself and Tsukishima rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses.

“Did the fresh mountain air turn you all into morons?” Tsukishima asked no one in particular. It had been three years since they had known each other, mostly they tended to ignore his barbed comments. Perhaps he had gone soft.

Considering he was sleeping outside in the woods instead of in his nice warm bed back at his house he could confirm that suspicion.

“Some kind of-” Yachi scoffed, shoving her blonde hair out of her face. She had grown it out long only to cut it off with a sword, Mulan-style. The volleyball club was a horrible influence on her. It was asymmetrical and somehow suited her quite well. “Nightly routine? What does that even mean?”

“Like a girl thing.” Kageyama spoke up, appearing from the woods and making them all jump. Hinata recovered first, taking a jumping leap at Kageyama who planted his feet and let Hinata use him as a ladder to grab onto the lowest branch. Kageyama gave a grunt of ‘dumbass’ but it was as useless as Tsukishima calling Kageyama ‘king’ as far as insults went.

“A nightly girl ritual is to throw food into trees?” Yachi asked in disbelief, turning to Tsukishima as if looking for help.

“I have heard legends that girls will offer treats to the tree spirits in exchange for-” Tsukishima dodged the twig Yachi threw at him. “Cute boys to notice them.” He continued on in a deadpan voice.

“It’s probably the opposite in Hitoka’s case.” Hinata hung upside down from the branch, holding out the bag that Yachi had spent five minutes getting up into the tree in the first place.

“Because she’s gay.” Kageyama stated in his usual blunt manner. Tsukishima snickered and Hinata outright laughed but Yachi rubbed Kageyama’s shoulder consolingly.

“Yes Tobio, because I’m gay.” Yachi confirmed and Kageyama nodded, looking relieved to get something right.

Being a cute girl in a boys volleyball club, surrounded by hormone-driven moronic boys most of the time meant Yachi was constantly hit on. She learned to deal with it better throughout the years but it still made her anxious and jumpy. Luckily, or unluckily depending on how it was viewed, she was also constantly surrounded by hormone-drive moronic boys who would literally commit murder to make sure she was comfortable. Yachi hadn’t asked for anyones head yet, but the offer was still there.

Tsukishima could not even imagine first year Yachi Hitoka going out in the woods with four teenage boys, even if two of them were gay, one was her bestfriend, and the third had no interest in anything even remotely related to sex or romance. But she had grown, they all had. Yachi had come to accept that she was gay, though her crush on Kikoyo was exactly subtle.

Hinata crashed into Tsukishima’s side. Tsukishima grunted in pain that was only half faked, Hinata would always be short but three years of being an athlete meant he was mostly hard packed muscle and he was always slamming his body into the nearest person. Which more often than not was Tsukishima.

“Do you have any nightly rituals?” Hinata asked, leaning completely into Tsukishima’s space. He only had to ask twice if Tsukishima wanted to go camping for a last hooray before they graduated. Twice. Tsukishima was going soft. “Any legends you feed into?” Hinata wiggled his eyebrows and Tsukishima forced himself to frown so he wouldn’t laugh.

Soft. Like a marshmellow.

“Hands!” Yamaguchi called out. Tsukishima automatically put his hands up and immediately realized his folly as Hinata’s own hands went to his suddenly exposed sides.

“Tadashi!” Tsukishima exclaimed between forced laughter.

“Sorry Tsukki.” Yamaguchi snickered.

Thankfully Tsukishima was long limbed and had gained muscle of his own over the years. He was able to grab Hinata’s squirming hands, though he had to admit the shorter teen most likely let him capture them easily, and yanked Hinata closer.

Tsukishima knew the real reason why he let himself be talked into going camping when he had no interest in spending the night on the cold ground being eaten alive by bugs. It was the same reason he allowed himself to get pulled into schemes and plans throughout the years. Why he let himself be talked into helping the others study, why he always opted into extra practices, why he stuck around for years even after all the pain and heartbreak.

None of them knew what the future held. Both Hinata and Kageyama were continuing on in the hopes of a future volleyball career. Yachi had gotten accepted into the country's best graphic arts school. Yamaguchi was taking a year off to travel, visiting the numerous family members he had that were spread out amongst the globe. Tsukishima was head to Tokyo on an academic scholarship.

Sometime during the years these four had wheedled their way into his life. Tsukishima even knew what Hinata tasted like, how his calloused hands felt against Tsukishima’s now crooked fingers. He knew Hinata had no problem with silence, though he preferred noise but he respected when Tsukishima just needed quiet. Hinata was good with people like that, knew instinctively what they needed without them having to say anything.

Hinata Shouyou, the literal ray of sunshine who had beaten all the odds. He befriended everyone he met, not a single team they played against or practiced with had anything bad to say about him. But for some reason he had looked at surly, bad tempered Tsukishima Kei and thought ‘I’m going to date the hell out of that’.

Tsukishima leaned forward and kissed Hinata, partially to hear his friends groan as they threw whatever was available at them but mostly to see the pleased look on his boyfriend's face.

None of them were sure about the future but right then it didn’t seem so looming and terrifying.

**Author's Note:**

> October 15th, 2019 - 15. Legend


End file.
